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Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch chaired a high-level meeting in Rabat today to discuss the implementation of Law No. 43.22 on alternative penalties, a reform aimed at reducing the negative effects of short-term prison sentences and alleviating overcrowding in correctional facilities.
The meeting explored mechanisms to implement alternative penalties, Aknnouch’s office said in a statement, noting that the law was published in the official Gazette in August this year.
Approved in June this year, the draft law calls for alternative sentencing, including community service, electronic monitoring, restriction of certain rights, or imposition of supervisory, therapeutic, or rehabilitation measures.
This past August, Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi defended the law amid widespread criticism. Custodial sentences, especially short-term ones, are not a particularly suitable or effective solution for rehabilitating convicts and reintegrating them into society, the minister argued.
“They are an expensive punitive measure, especially given the increasing prison population,” he said.
According to the statement by Akknouch’s office, today’s high-level meeting, which was attended by Ouahbi and other officials, focused on the administrative, managerial, and financial requirements for implementing these sentencing reforms.
Read also: Morocco Adopts Alternative Sentencing Bill To Reduce Prison Overcrowding
The relevant, high-ranking officials who took part in the meeting unanimously agreed on an approach and work methodology for implementing the law through the establishment of a committee to address technical and practical issues related to the project, the office stressed.
It said: “The regulatory decrees concerning alternative penalties are expected to be finalized within five months, adhering to the timeline outlined in the law.”
During the high-level meeting, a general framework of an agreement between the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration and the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG) was established to focus on monitoring and implementing alternative penalties.
This comes a year after an annual report by Morocco’s prison authority found that the North African country’s prison population exceeded 97,000 in 2022, which marked a 10% increase from the year before.
Critically, the report warned that the figures will exceed 100,000 by 2025 as the number of detainees continues to grow at a rapid pace.
Ouahbi has been calling for boosting the role of the public prosecutor’s office in activating and monitoring alternative sentences.
In particular, the minister has advocated for granting broad discretionary power to criminal judges in sentencing and assigning judicial execution of alternative sentences to the judge responsible for implementing penalties.
He has also called for raising public awareness about the importance of alternative sentences.
